Introducing “Stress Test”: The Midterms Will Test Democracy. We’ll Help You Through It.

It’s only a few weeks away. It feels like an eternity.

The midterm elections have officially entered their looming phase. Worriers of all stripes (doomscrollers, political junkies, fuel tank fillers), we get it. There’s a war, an unpopular president, a MAGA capture of Congress, and a bunch of multibillionaires blithely slop-ifying our jobs. It’s a lot.

That’s where we come in. We know how to tease out what to pay attention to and what to tune out, and we were early to identify the big issues shaping this election. We were on the ground as local groups banded together across party lines to oppose data centers. We profiled the rise of Christian nationalism and its infiltration of the highest ranks of government. And we’ve never taken our eyes off the threat of election interference and the systematic erosion of voting rights across the country.

Enter “Stress Test,” a new video podcast from Mother Jones, hosted by Washington, DC, bureau chief David Corn and video correspondent Garrison Hayes. “We’re facing perhaps one of the biggest stress tests that American democracy has ever been through with these midterm elections,” David explains. “After 2020, I think one of the lessons that some of us learned, but unfortunately not everybody: Our democracy is fragile.”

In twice-weekly pop-up episodes, David and Garrison will talk to our reporters about the midterms and where you should be paying attention. They’ll team up when breaking news changes the course of the election, and they’ll be your companions, channeling your stress (and their own) into a productive discussion about the future of our democracy. As Garrison puts it: “If the fur is going to be flying, there’s no one I’d rather be talking to than David Corn—and, of course, the incredible journalists and reporters in our newsroom.”

Don’t miss an episode: Subscribe now to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/motherjones. The show will also be available in audio form on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

This post was shared from Mother Jones.

Mother Jones is a nonprofit American progressive magazine that focuses on news, commentary, and investigative journalism on topics including politics, environment, human rights, health, healthcare and culture. Clara Jeffery serves as editor-in-chief of the magazine. Monika Bauerlein has been the CEO since 2015.  Last updated from Wikipedia 2026-09-27T17:51:55Z.
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Recently updated charts from the most popular data releases according to the Federal Reserve Economic Database (FRED).